Sonic Rivals
by Charmed Mistress
Summary: A terrible accident has happened. While fighting Bowser and rescuing Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi AND Bowser were sent far away into another relm. What will happen to them now?
1. Accident

**Now all I did was "polish" some of the chapters; ridding most - if not all - of the spelling and grammar errors, and made quite a few changes to the story. Nothing drastic, mind you.**

**The main reason for the polish is just for the cosmetics. Seeing as how much this story is still being read to this day very much gave me the encouragement to do as such. I reread this story a while back, I wasn't too happy with how it looked, so hopefully this is more pleasing to the eye this time.**

**I'm only doing so much as cosmetics, because - if you haven't figured it out already - this story is discontinued - like my other ones. It pains me to say so, really, but I _may_ rewrite one of the stories (which Camp Summer Olympics may be the winner there). Currently I'm trying to work on new stories that I hope to post soon, and that I will try to see finished. I also have this explained on my profile, but this is just to ensure most - if not everyone - knows what's going on. (_If_ you're reading this, anyhow...)**

**Time has past and things have changed, and hopefully the new stories look and come out better. I hope you're all not too upset with me.**

* * *

><p><span>Prologue: Accident<span>

Mario, Luigi and Yoshi stormed into Bowser's castle, making their way to the huge double door that lead to the Koopa King's lair.

"This is it, everyone ready?" Mario asked the others.

Luigi smiled. "Ready when you are, bro!"

Yoshi simply nodded.

Mario threw his shoulder against one of the doors while Luigi took the other. With the shrieking of misaligned hinges, both doors slowly slid open. They walked in, the throne room looked different… Things were there that not even Mario remembered seeing.

There was a narrow path to the throne illumined by a solid floor of flame below, the air overbearingly hot, shifting and shimmering and making visibility less certain than the brightness of the room would indicate. The throne was larger than before, a red carpet leading to it starting from the end of the narrow bridge. Mario looked around, he couldn't find any signs of Bowser…

or the princess…

They each walked forward, following Mario to the narrow path. Mario's eyes were still scanning the place, looking to see where Bowser and the princess were. Mario strode forward, with Luigi and Yoshi still following him. The path was so narrow, they had to walk a single-file line to cross it.

Yoshi could already feel that something wasn't right. That feeling sank into him ever since they first entered the front door. No sight of Goombas or Koopas was his first sign. There wasn't even a single Thwomp around either… and that was certainly unusual for the Koopa King himself. Another sign was hinted when Mario abruptly stopped with a gasp.

"Everything okay bro?" Luigi asked. He too now knows that something was wrong. He tilted to the side, just enough to see what Mario was looking at. Luigi's

face almost went pale as he screamed in horror. Yoshi dared to look, and literally froze when he also saw this.

Bowser stood in front of a wide and enormous pot filled with lava, with Peach dangling above, held by a rope tied tightly around her from the ceiling. Peach's eyes were closed, as if Bowser drugged her to sleep. Unless he really had "put her to sleep"…

"Well, well… If it isn't Mario and his puny group." Bowser began, gaze still fixed on Peach. His back remained towards the trio. "I'm actually glad you could make it."

"What did you do with the princess?!" Mario shouted, hands balled into fists.

"The princess is taking a nap." Bowser chuckled inwardly, fully turning towards Mario's direction. "Don't worry, you're precious princess is fine… for now at least." he then faced the sleeping princess. "Don't worry. She isn't dead… _yet_. I was giving her the last few minutes of her life before she takes a dip into this gorgeous pot of lava…

"As a matter of fact, Mario, I was waiting… _for you_."

Mario took out his hammer and griped it tightly. "Luigi, Yoshi. You two go free the princess while I deal with Bowser." Luigi and Yoshi exchanged glances before nodding. While Bowser slowly stomped towards Mario, Luigi and Yoshi made a dash for Peach.

Mario scooped up his hammer and stood in a stance, waiting for Bowser to get closer. When Bowser was close enough, Mario forcefully threw his hammer as if it were a boomerang. Alas the Koopa King caught it, and threw it into the lava below. The plumber charged his fire ball, and released it, but was deflected by the Koopa's spiky shell. Mario jumped over the fireball towards Bowser, bouncing off against him. The force caused Bowser to stumble and fall backwards. He got up, just in time to be greeted by Mario's uppercut. Bowser flew and landed a few feet back. He got up and began to charge.

Luigi and Yoshi ran towards the pot of lava with Peach hanging over it. The rope was slowly lowering the slumbering princess closer to the lava. He must of pulled some kind of lever before he fought Mario. They needed a way to free the princess quickly. From looking around himself, Yoshi found a sharp object near his foot. It was a wooden-handle knife.

Yoshi picked up the knife by the handle and carefully handed it to Luigi. "Try to get onto the pot and get her free with this. But be careful not to drop the knife or the princess into the lava. Watch your footing too." Luigi nodded and walked over to the pot.

Luigi jumped up and grabbed the edge of the pot. He pulled himself up carefully and tried his best to keep his balance. Yoshi stood underneath him so he could catch him if he fell. Luigi slowly raised the knife as he tried to grab the rope, which continued to lower the princess. With great haste, he began to cut the rope until it snapped.

As Peach began to freefall from where she was, Luigi held his arms over the pot to catch her. Peach fell safely into his arms, though the force was enough for Luigi to stumble backwards and fall off the pot. Now it was Yoshi's turn to hold out his arms and catch Luigi. Yoshi stumbled and fell backwards, causing Luigi and Peach to fall on top of him.

He pushed Luigi off of him, causing the plumber to roll away with the princess still in his arms. Mario looked over towards the noise, along with Bowser. Bowser's eyes widened with horror as Mario smiled before running over towards the group.

"Great! Now that we have the princess, we can get out of here!" Luigi placed Peach on Yoshi's back before they followed Mario towards the door.

Bowser roared in fury before snapping his fingers, which caused the large doors to the throne room to shut together tightly. The three came to a halt when they reached the door. Mario and Luigi pushed and pulled on the door, nothing worked.

"It won't budge!" Mario exclaimed, kicking the door. The four were suddenly surrounded by large groups of Dry Bones, Goombas, Koopas, Boos, Bob-ombs, Whomps and Magikoopas.

That's_ why everything was so quiet…_ Yoshi thought while looking at the enemies that surrounded them. Bowser marched over to the four with a staff in his hand. On this staff was a large purple orb, the staff itself was blue with two gold rings, One on the top of the and one on the bottom. Bowser raised the staff high into the air, the purple orb began to glow.

"This staff… Someone gave it to me." the Koopa King announced. "It was a wizard. He said this staff can send you far away. And with this staff, _that's what I'll do to you_!" Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi were lifted into the air by the power of the staff. They floated in mid-air while Bowser laughed wickedly.

Bowser held the rod with both hands. "So long Mario! May you have a nice trip… far, far away!" Bowser shot the rod high in the air once again, using one hand to twirl the rod in a circular motion. The four began to spin, faster and faster as they were slowly turning into stone. Yoshi was the first to vanish, in seconds he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Then Peach soon disappeared afterwards, followed by Luigi also evaporating into a cloud of smoke. Mario was the last to go, sparks releasing into the air as the final of the group vanished in thin air.

It took a minute for Bowser to move. He began to laugh evilly, pumping his free hand into the air victoriously.

"Finally!" he began. "With those pesky plumbers gone, I can… I can… Ha…" Bowser suddenly collapsed, letting go of the rod, which caused the purple orb to shatter into a million pieces. His enormous form slowly began to turn into stone before disappearing into sparks himself. The minions could only stand in silence, unable to comprehend everything that just happened.


	2. New Surroundings

1- New Surroundings

"Ho ho ho! I's been a while, hasn't it Sonic?"

Sonic and Eggman stood face-to-face, as if about to have a show down.

"What have you done with Amy and Tails?!" Sonic demanded.

"Not to worry," Eggman began, walking towards the left. "They're both sound asleep in _these cards_!" he drew two playing cards, one with a pink hedgehog and the other with a small orange fox.

Sonic clenched his teeth and fists as he snarled, "You… Change them back Eggman!"

The evil scientist chuckled. "No can do Sonic. You see-"

"_Eggman_!" a sudden gruff voice called out Eggman's name, belonging to a red echidna who was standing in front of the two with his arms crossed and a heated glare.

"The Master Emerald is gone." he continued. "What did you do this time?"

Eggman laughed evilly as took out a camera. "You see this camera here? This lets me turn anything into a card. And with this camera; I'll use it to create the Ultimate Card Collection!" He took out the two cards he held earlier, and waved them about in the other hand. "If either of you want these cards, you'll need to catch me first!" Eggman began sprinting towards the forest.

"Wait! Get back here!" Knuckles called. Before chasing after the round scientist, he turned to Sonic with a confident smirk. "No hard feelings Sonic, but there's no way you're gonna beat me!" he sounded really confident.

Sonic's own cocky grin formed on his muzzle. "Okay Knuckles, then let's race for it! "First one to catch up with Eggman takes it all!" Within minutes, the two took off deep into Forest Falls Zone side by side.

...

_Bzzzzz…Zzzzzz…_

The device buzzed a couple of times before he answered it.

"Can you hear me Shadow_?_" It sounded like Eggman's voice speaking through the device. "There's someone after me!" Although with the horrible connection, Shadow was able to detect the graveness in Eggman's tone. "He's…Ah! It's all so confusing! I'm not sure how to explain this! Anyway, follow this signal and come find me! I'm counting on you Shadow!"

_Click._

_After that last transmission, the doctor disappeared…_ Shadow mused. _And that was six hours ago…What happened to him?_ Suddenly, he spotted a silver hedgehog running by him. Shadow studied him for a minute.

_What's this…a silver hedgehog? _Shadow's eyes widened. _Wait… Is he the one… chasing the doctor?!_ The black hedgehog ran after him and called out, "Hey you! What do you want with the doctor?!"

"Who's there?!" the silver hedgehog demanded. "You better not get in my way!"

Shadow slowly approached the hedgehog, keeping a safe distance from him. He crossed his arms. "My name is Shadow… and I won't let you harm the doctor!"

Eggman suddenly appeared, running past both hedgehogs. "Shadow, take care of him for me!" he continued running further into the falls.

"Wait Eggman!" the silver hedgehog called before chasing after him.

Shadow followed him. "Hey, wait!"

* * *

><p>"Oh… <em>Bowser<em>!" Peach exclaimed. She had woken up a while ago, and found herself in Bowser's clutches. She was unsure how it was possible for her to end up outside and _alive_ after Bowser tied her to that rope and hung her over that dreadful pot of lava…

Bowser woke up not too long ago himself. He was actually lucky to find Princess Peach, who was still unconscious on the ground a stone's throw away from him. He snatched her and took off. Peach had only awakened a few minutes earlier when he boarded the jet. They were on the roof though. Bowser was surprised that Luigi and Yoshi were able to catch up with him already, but what really surprised him was that Mario wasn't with them. He could only guess that he was transported to a completely different location.

Bowser continued to walk until he couldn't go any further. No one was steering the ship, which was why the ship only flew in one direction. He came close to the prowl of the flying ship before turning around, Yoshi and Luigi were still right there. They were getting closer and closer. Peach was kicking and trying to free herself from Bowser's grasp. Finally when Luigi and Yoshi were close enough, Bowser placed Peach over the edge and forcefully tilted her backwards. Peach began to scream while Yoshi and Luigi froze from where they were.

"If you get _any_ closer, I will throw your precious princess overboard! And it'll be too late for you annoying pests! Surrender or your princess will hit rock bottom!"

Luigi glared at the Koopa King. "You _wouldn't_…"

"I WOULD!" Bowser spewed fire, causing Peach to scream again. Luigi and Yoshi slid backwards. Yoshi felt like he was going to lose balance, flailing his arms about as he wobbled on one foot, trying to regain his balance. But it was too late. Yoshi fell off the plane, screaming while falling towards a forest down below.

Luigi's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no!" He turned around just in time to greet Bowser, who was now right in front of him. Before Luigi could react, Bowser sent an uppercut, sending the plumber upwards before falling towards the forest below. Bowser whipped around, facing the Princess whose face was filled with horror. Bowser went over to her and grabbed her again.

"Now… where were we?" an evil smirk formed onto the Koopa King's face.

Finally, Peach had it. Her horror was replaced with anger. "Oh that's it!"

Peach slapped Bowser across the face as hard as she could. A heartbeat of silence before Bowser roared in fury and shoved Peach so hard, she tripped over the edge and fell down into the forest below. Bowser took a deep breath, before his anger suddenly dissolved into worry, what has he done with Peach? He has to go after her, catch her before she _does_ hit the ground and…

_Oh no… I can't let that happen. _

_But she's dead already…_

_No! She isn't!_

_Either way it's not like Mario can save her. _No one_ can have her now…_

_Wait… What?_

It was as if he was at a conflict with himself. His thoughts flip-flopped, neither decisions felt completely settling. He had also developed a strange sensation from inside, a weird tingling feeling he could not even describe. He couldn't help but feel that something was wrong… with him.

Lately he had been feeling strangely out of character, something else even he couldn't put his finger on. He was still torn between the idea of killing Princess Peach, just so no one else would be able to have her if he could not. Saving her was the other option, so that she may show him her gratitude…

…and_ affection_.

Quickly he tried to shake off the idea, his face heating in mild embarrassment.

_But… just think of how torn Mario would be… when she sees how worthless he is compared to _me_…_

His sheepish grin turned into an evil smile.

_That would surely destroy him… and make Princess Peach finally mine._

His crooked smile released all of his laughter. Louder and harsher than the next, before harmonizing into a long and wicked laugh.

But just when Bowser had looked up, the expression he wore immediately turned into one of horror. Before he could react in time, the ship crashed into a tree. The impact caused Bowser to fall off the ship and towards the forest below.

...

Mario flailed his arms about as he fell further into the land below him. He was helpless, it would already be the end of him unless there was something he could grab on to save his life. He couldn't reach any of the trees and there were no vines to grab onto. All he could do was scream.

Suddenly he fell into a tree, hitting each branch as he descended towards the ground. However he landed into a couple of vines, tangled in each of them. Now he was safe, and stuck. Facing downward at the ground Mario hung a few feet from the ground, taking deep breaths and pulling himself together. He began to push some of the vines aside and untangle himself free, before some of the vines suddenly began to snap. Mario fell and landed in a bush with a thud.

He laid there for a minute in a daze before rolling out of the bush. He began pulling the vines and leaves off of him while still lying on the ground, until a shadow loomed over him. At first he thought it was going to rain, until he realized it wasn't a cloud. Mario looked above him to see a blue hedgehog leaning over him, starring right back at him with its large emerald eyes. It was a strange creature unbeknownst to him. Mario couldn't help but ask himself…

Where the heck was he?


	3. Where Am I?

2- Where Am I?

"Are you alright?"

Mario didn't answer right away. He stared at the hedgehog above him before pulling a leaf from his shirt. The blue hedgehog grabbed Mario's hand and pulled him up.

"I'm fine… Thanks."

The blue hedgehog smiled. "No problem."

Mario looked around him. There were a lot of different trees and exotic plants, and he could hear a waterfall from afar. It was like a rainforest of some sort. Where was he? Was he still somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom? Dimble Woods, maybe? No… there weren't any waterfalls there. He couldn't recall ever encountering creatures like this before. Wait a minute, this isn't the Mushroom Kingdom… W_hat_ happened, and _why_?

Suddenly an image of Bowser popped into his mind…

…

_Bowser marched over to the four with a staff in his hand. On this staff was a large purple orb, the staff itself was blue with two gold rings, One on the top of the and one on the bottom. Bowser raised the staff high into the air, the purple orb began to glow._

"_This staff…someone gave it to me. It was a wizard. He said this staff can send you far away. And with this staff, that's what I'll do to you!" Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi were lifted into the air by the power of the staff. They floated in mid-air while Bowser laughed wickedly._

"_So long Mario! May you all have a nice trip far, far away!" Bowser shot the rod high in the air once again. The four began to spin, faster and faster they got as they were turning into stone. Yoshi was first to vanish, in seconds he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Then Peach soon disappeared afterwards. Luigi was next to disappear into a cloud of smoke. Finally, Mario disappeared in a puff of smoke…_

"_BWAHAHAHA!"_

…

Mario's eyes widened in horrified recognition. Bowser had some type of rod and used a spell that sent him here in this bizarre world. What if Bowser's here too? Spells can backfire if one's not careful. Mario knew this since he heard of stories similar to what Bowser said about that rod. But, where is everyone else. Luigi nor Yoshi were anywhere in sight. Not even Princess Peach herself. Where did they all end up?

"Uh… you okay there?"

The sudden question caused Mario to snap out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

"You were spacing out a little…"

"Oh, yeah… I'm fine."

The hedgehog smiled again, before his smile changed into a concerned look. "So… how'd you get here? I don't think you're from around here."

"If I'd told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Oh yeah? Just try me."

Mario tried to describe it the best and understandable way he could. The blue hedgehog starred at the plumber awkwardly. "I'm sorry, dude, but I do not believe you one bit."

"See! I knew you would think it was crazy! But I don't blame you, it did sounded crazy! It was actually crazy…" The blue hedgehog began stepping away from the plumber. Mario placed a hand under his chin before looking back at the hedgehog. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

"What? Pfft! You? Crazy? Don't be silly!" Mario knew he was lying.

"Maybe I am a little crazy…" Mario dropped his head. "Maybe it was the fall, hitting too many trees... I don't know. I'm sorry about that."

"No worries. In fact, why don't you tell me your name?"

Mario took a deep breath. "I'm Super Mario! I came from the Mushroom Kingdom." He placed his hands on his hips. "What's your name?"

He rubbed his nose with his index finger before placing both hands on his hips and crossing one leg. "The name's Sonic: Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic paused. "There's somewhere I hafta be right now… Why don't you come with me?" He then grabbed Mario's wrist and took off.

Mario was being dragged at first, until he managed to run along with the speedy hedgehog with his own two feet. "Wow! You're really fast!"

Sonic smirked. "You're looking at the Fastest Thing Alive! I just love to run! Don't you? It feels so great!"

"I see. So… who are looking for?"

"Eggman. He's notorious for building robots to use to take over to build this lame empire, Eggman Land or whatever."

"Eggman Land? That sounds a little goofy."

"It's stupid, that's what it is." Sonic picked up a little more speed, forcing Mario to run a little faster.

...

Upon hurrying to chase the hedgehog, Shadow happened to notice a sound... a few sounds. One being the sound of something hitting the ground hard, and another which sounded like branches rustling against one another. He stopped from where he was and started to look around, assuming that it could be the hedgehog he was chasing after. Crimson eyes landed on a nearby bush, before he quickly walked over to the bush and pushed the branches aside...

Only to see a man in green laying on the ground unconscious.

He wore a green long-sleeved shirt. He wore dark blue overalls, brown shoes, white gloves, and a big green hat with the letter L on it. He had a big round nose, a big black mustache, and big ears. This was someone he has never seen before.

Suddenly, he opened his big blue eyes.

...

Luigi screamed before grabbing the black hedgehog by the white turf of fur on his chest and sent a swift punch across his muzzle. Luigi sent another swift punch across the muzzle before standing up and punched the black hedgehog once more. The punch was hard enough to knock the hedgehog down. Luigi then made a dash for it.

Shadow laid there, dazed. That guy just started punching him for no reason. It was completely unexpecting. He got up and began running after the guy.

Luigi continued to run, ignoring the hedgehog who was calling for him. He came to a large river, then turned around to meet the black hedgehog who he attacked earlier.

"Stay right there." he said. "Just calm down and tell me what's going on."

"Never!" Luigi flew up to the hedgehog and sent and uppercut, which made the hedgehog's head snap back. Then Luigi whirled around and swiftly jabbed the hedgehog in the stomach. The hedgehog bent down holding his stomach, that nearly knocked the wind out of him. Before the animal could recover, Luigi sent another swift punch across his muzzle. Luigi then jumped about four inches high and sent a kick, hitting the hedgehog's stomach. The hedgehog fell on his back once again while Luigi stood in his stance.

The hedgehog slowly got up, and wiped the small stream of blood from the corner of his mouth. Apparently, Luigi hit him hard enough to cut him. The hedgehog began to glow a faint red.

"That's it, you've asked for it!" he snarled, showing his fangs. Luigi glared, keeping his battle stance. The hedgehog held out his hand, aiming it towards Luigi before shouting, "Chaos Sphere!"

A yellow energy beam shot out of his hand and hit the green plumber. Luigi yelped in pain as he flew backwards a few feet, landing on his back. Luigi got up and held out his hand, aiming it towards the black hedgehog. He then shot a green fire ball from it which hit the hedgehog, sending him a few feet backwards. Luigi then flew up to the hedgehog and placed two fingers on the hedgehog's chest.

"Prepare to be shocked!" Shadow began to shake violently, it looked as if he was having a seizure. He couldn't do anything, he shook uncontrollably. That means the guy was somehow electrocuting him. He felt electric bolts ripping through him, he screamed in pain. Luigi then grabbed his arm and squeezed it, electrocuting him even more. The electric bolts were tearing through him harshly now. Should he beg him to stop? Beg for mercy? But does the Ultimate Life Form ever beg for mercy?

Of course not.

Finally, Luigi let go of him. The hedgehog just laid there, nearly unconscious. Luigi smiled in triumph, he had just won a fight in a new place without the help of his elder brother. He stood up and looked down at the hedgehog for a minute, before he gave a great big kicked at his side, just to put on some extra stank. The hedgehog didn't make a sound or a movement though. Yep, Luigi showed him how it was done. Yep, yep, he was the best…

But how was he going to get out of here?

...

_Heh heh heh, I'm gonna win!_

Knuckles ran over a wooden bridge with a huge waterfall in view. He dashed

around a huge tree to come across a wide river. There was a vine hanging from one of the tree branches. It look pretty sturdy enough that it wouldn't break. He grabbed the vine and begin to walk backwards while having a good grip on the vine. When he was far enough, he begin to run towards the river. Once he was close enough, he jumped and swung his feet, swinging over the river. He then let go and landed on one knee.

He got up and looked behind him, to see if Sonic caught up with him yet. Sonic was still nowhere to be seen. Is he stuck or something? Did he get lost? He would go look for him, but Eggman has the Master Emerald. But it was turned into a card, it's not like Eggman could use it or anything. Still, he has to go get it back. But Sonic, what if he's in trouble? Sure the Master Emerald is captured by Dr. Eggman, but frenemies come first, don't they? Sure Sonic is his rival, but that's still his pal.

Or, what if he just had a slow start? Maybe he stopped to take a quick break. No, that doesn't sound right. Sonic never gets tired during a race. Ah, oh well. Maybe he is a little slow today. But that could mean he can catch up anytime now.

Suddenly, he heard moaning. He jerked, what was that? He heard the moan again, this time, a little louder. He begin to look around to see what made that sound. There it was again! Another moan, softer this time. Knuckles looked to his right, it was coming from those bushes. He slowly walked towards the bushes, not wanting who or whatever was in the bush to run off. He then pushed the branches aside, revealing a woman in pink, unconscious.

She wore a pink dress, which was red on the bottom. Her hair was long and blonde. She had long white gloves, red pumps, blue earrings, a blue pendant on her chest which had a yellow golden frame, she had long eyelashes, a small nose, and she had a golden crown on the top of her head with res and blew gems on it. Was she a princess of some sort?

Unexpectedly, the girl's blue eyes popped opened. She screamed, Knuckles screamed.

"Wait!" Knuckles cried, before getting slapped across the muzzle. "I'm trying to help you!" She slapped him again, making his head turn sideways. "Stop!" _Slap_! The girl then shoved Knuckles, hard enough for him to fall and land on his back. The woman picked herself up and took off.

"Hey! Wait!" Knuckles picked himself up and ran after the girl. _What the heck is going on?!_

...

Peach huffed and puffed as she ran through the forest. What _was_ that thing? Where was she? If she finds Bowser, he would be very sorry for sending her to this wretched place. She knew this wasn't the Mushroom Kingdom. She knew her Kingdom pretty well. She doesn't remember being in a rainforest like this. And she certainly had never seen such a creature! Just what was he trying to do with her? Kidnap her like Bowser? Well she won't be kidnapped that easily!

She made her way through some tall grass when she came to a huge cliff. But from that huge cliff was an amazing view of a landscape with several waterfalls pouring into one big lake.

"Wow…" she muttered in awed. "This place is so beautiful. All of the leaves on trees are so lush and green. The grass is tall and healthy. Even the plants are so healthy and pretty…What is this place?"

"There you are!"

Peach jerked, hearing a familiar voice. She slowly turned around to see the red echidna she had attacked earlier. Her eyes widened before she buried her face in her hands and slowly sinking to her knees and began sobbing.

Knuckles raised a brow, slowly approaching the girl.

He placed a hand behind his head. "Hey, look... I wasn't going to hurt you or anything if that's what you're worried about."

Peach sniffled. "No… I'm sorry. I don't know where it came from." She slowly began to stand up. "Sorry for what I did back there. It's just that you startled me, and I thought you were trying to grab me."

"No problem. I didn't mean to startle you or anything. I just heard a few noises being made and wanted to see who was doing that. That's how I found you."

"Oh, okay." Peach wiped her damp eyes. "I'm Princess Peach, Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. You may just call me Peach, I don't mind at all. What's your name?"

"I'm Knuckles the Echidna, I protect the Master Emerald and keep it in Angel Island Zone where it's supposed to be held. But an evil scientist by the name of Eggman took it and somehow turned it into a card. That's why I'm after him so I can bring it back to the island."

"Why did he have to turn it into a card? Was it too heavy for him or something?"

"He turned it into a card for something stupid. Anyway, that's why I'm looking for him."

"Then why don't I help you? But if I do, you have to promise me to help me find my other friends. They were sent here also thanks to Bowser, an evil Koopa King who always tries to kidnap me and take over the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Are you sure?"

Peach nodded. "Positive!"

"Okay, then follow me!" Knuckles began to run, followed by Peach.

...

"Where are you Eggman?" the silver hedgehog began to look around for the evil scientist. Suddenly he heard a rustling sound from a nearby bush. He stopped and looked at the bush.

"Who's there?!" he demanded. He jolted when he saw the bush move.

"I can hear you. If you don't come out, I'm going in after you!" The bush moved again. What if it's Eggman? The silver hedgehog went over to the bush and began to count to three.

"You have three seconds to come out of this bush! One, Two, Thre-"

"Aha!" Unexpectedly, a green dinosaur jumped out of the bushes and jumped on the hedgehog, rolling across the ground upon impact. The dinosaur was on top of the hedgehog, pinning him to the ground with his legs around his waist and his hands around the hedgehog's neck tightly.

"Keep talking smack!" Yoshi pounded his fist into the hedgehog's face. "Say something else!" Yoshi grabbed the hedgehog's throat once again before repeatedly banging his head against the ground. He continued to do so with one on his hands still wrapped around his opponent's throat and used the other to strike his face.

"I don't…here you…saying…anything!" Yoshi said with each punch.

"G-Get off!" the silver hedgehog managed to say. He kicked and struggled to get free from Yoshi, which caused Yoshi to pick up the pace. Finally the silver hedgehog managed to put his hands on the Yoshi's shoulders and shove him as hard as he could.

Yoshi fell backwards and the hedgehog dizzily but quickly got up and ran off. The dinosaur quickly got up and ran after the hedgehog, throwing Yoshi eggs at the escaping hedgehog who was trying to dodge the eggs.

"You're crazy!" the hedgehog shouted at the Yoshi.

"That's right! I AM crazy! You remember that!" Yoshi called back, throwing more eggs. The hedgehog suddenly flew into the air and began flying away.

"Later you mad dino!" the hedgehog called before taking off at full speed.

"Hey! Come back here!" Yoshi screamed, picking up his speed.


	4. Saved

3- Saved

"Wow! Look at that cave over there!" Mario peered over at the cavern from on top of a large hill. It looked interesting… interesting as in suspicious.

Sonic also peered over at the cavern, using one of his hands to shield his eyes from the sun. "I wonder if Eggman's in there?"

"There's only one way to find out."

"You got that right!" said the hedgehog with a wink. "Let's go check it out!" Sonic sped off, with Mario following behind.

They ran down the hill and came to a waterfall. Mario looked down, a lake was at the bottom of the cliff. Looking further ahead he found another ledge at the other side. With the gap between them being too wide to simply jump, he began to search for something to help the two of them cross. Luckily he spotted a vine hanging over the ledge from a branch. It looked sturdy enough for them to use to swing across.

Mario jumped up and grabbed the vine. He swung backwards to bring it back to the edge where Sonic had watched him with his arms folded.

"This should work," Mario held out the vine. "You first?"

Sonic shook his head. "After you."

"Okay." the plumber shrugged. He took a step back and began to run towards the cliff. Mario gripped the vine tightly before jumping and swinging over the gap. He landed on the other side and swung the vine back to Sonic, who swiftly caught it.

"Your turn."

Sonic walked over to the ledge and looked down at the lake below. He quickly looked back up, took a deep breath, and began moving a few steps back before running towards the edge – like what Mario did. As soon as he was close to the edge he closed his eyes and jumped, swinging over the gap. Mario watched him, if his eyes are closed, he won't know when to let go of the vine. Mario held his arms out, looking as if getting ready to catch the hedgehog as if he was falling.

"Let go of the vine!" Mario called. "It's safe to land!" Sonic nodded and released the vine, with his eyes still closed.

Mario planted himself in that spot and kept his arms out. Sonic landed in his arms, and Mario merely stumbled due to the impact. The hedgehog's eyes were still closed while tightly holding on to the red plumber.

He chuckled. "You can open your eyes now."

Sonic slowly opened his eyes and found himself in Mario's arms… in bridal style. He also noticed how he had his arms around the plumber's neck. He looked at the plumber who was looking at him as well. The uncomfortable silence lasted for only a minute when Mario began smiling and laughing hysterically. A vivid flush spread across Sonic's muzzle, which remained after he jumped out of the plumber's arms.

"Heh… Don't know where that came from…" With a nervous chuckle, Sonic rubbed his arm in an awkward manner.

Mario released another chuckle. "Don't worry about it, it happens." Similar situations involving him and Luigi on some of their adventures came into mind. He was used it.

"I owe it to you anyway." Sonic smiled. Mario returned it.

"Let's get going." Sonic nodded, before smiling at the plumber once again and taking off. Mario began running before smirking to himself.

...

Luigi continued to use the large stick to help row the lily pad down the river. When the lily pad began to float in a quicker pace, Luigi decided to take a break and placed the large stick on the lily pad. He was tired from walking around aimlessly, and had just found this lily pad from a small pound and the stick to use as a paddle. After that, he went back over to the river where the animal still laid unconscious.

Speaking of which, he felt kind of bad for treating it the way he did. It all started out as a misunderstanding , but then turned intentional after it fought back. He only though that the thing was about to take him off to who knows where… It was all just an act of defense.

Soon he heard a faint crashing sound nearby. Luigi peered ahead, seeing a cliff. '_What is that?_' He asked himself in his mind. What could this mean? A cliff… Splashing sounds… '_Ah! Oh no! That's a waterfall!_' Luigi's eyes widened as he picked up the stick and began to row the other direction.

But it was too late.

The river was pulling the lily pad and Luigi towards the waterfall. Seeing that the stick wasn't helping, Luigi tossed it into the water and almost began using both of his hands. In his mind – if he was to do that, he could risk falling off and into the water… It didn't seem like the best choice. The flow of the river increased as Luigi got closer to the edge.

'_I'm doomed…_'

He began to scream, which was being drowned out by the waterfall nearby. The panicking plumber's eyes began to scan the area around him, in desperate hope to find something he could use to save himself. Unfortunately, he was too far from land. He peered at the waterfall ahead once again before he spotted something long and green hanging over the edge.

Finally, he found something.

It appeared to be a vine, which he could grab onto and use to get on land. As soon as he was close enough to the edge, Luigi jumped up and grabbed the vine while the lily pad fell down the waterfall. He held on to it tightly before wrapping his legs around it. He was now safe…

…That is, until he heard the sound of something crackling nearby. He looked around, trying to indicate where it came from. He heard another sound, one of the same type. Swallowing hard, he dared to look up.

The branch that the vine was hanging from was forming gigantic cracks.

Luigi glowered bitterly. '_Great… What perfect timing…_' Without another warning, the branch finally snapped. The green plumber screamed as he was falling down the enormous waterfall. As he was getting closer to the body of water below, Luigi closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

_SPLASH…_

He floated under the water with his eyes still closed and his mouth now shut. Once he finally opened his eyes, he quickly swam to the surface. He first gasped for air before grabbing the wet lily pad he rode down the stream. Luigi took small breaths while scanning his new surroundings. It was a small area with a tree in front of the pound, which had mushrooms growing right next to it.

Luigi swam to land, only to be greeted by a hand that had stretched out him. Slowly his eyes traveled up the black and red arm to meet the gaze of the hand's owner. His eyes widened in surprise at who he just saw.

"Need a hand?"


	5. Eggman

4- Eggman

Mario was using a giant stick to row the giant leaf down the river. Sonic sat by his side, laying on his back with legs crossed and his arms folded behind his head. Mario placed the stick on the leaf to let the flow of the river carry them down stream – this was going to take a while. Mario sat with his legs crossed with his elbow resting on one of his legs and a hand underneath his chin.

"Man, this is taking forever." Mario sighed.

"It shouldn't take too long." Sonic's eyes were closed. He was taking a small nap, only to wake up to hearing Mario's voice. And he was having such a good nap too…

Mario sighed again, he was really hoping to get out of here as soon as possible. Suddenly, the flow of the river began to pick up. Mario perked up and began to row the leaf with the stick.

"Get ready." Mario spoke to Sonic. "It's gonna get a little rough from here on out. Hold on to your-!" He was interrupted when they suddenly dropped through a curve. "…hat."

"I don't have a hat." Sonic countered.

"Look out!" the huge leaf jumped over a drop. Sonic gasped before clinging onto Mario, who was now on his knees also and placed both hands on the leaf.

The river's speed was picking up rapidly, making it pretty difficult for Mario to steer. The leaf sharply went through a curve, before jumping over another drop. Mario grabbed the front of the leaf and pulled it with all of his might, trying to see if it would slow it down. Though the speed of the leaf didn't change.

They were coming to another drop, with rocks awaiting to shred the "boat" into a million pieces and the riders to be washed downstream. That wasn't good. The leaf could rip and it could sink once it touches the water and…drown…Sonic shut his

eyes tightly as he tightened his grip on Mario, who glanced at him before facing forward.

"Don't worry!" Mario assured. "I won't let you fall in!" Sonic opened his eyes and looked at Mario.

"But what about you?"

Mario looked at him before saying, "No one's going anywhere." Then he faced forward. "Not when I'm here." They jumped over the rocks, thanks to the speed of the river. So there was a pretty good advantage for this speed that was constantly picking up. But, there was a new problem ahead.

There was a rock up ahead. Mario's grasp tightened on the leaf and he tried pulling again, the leaf still didn't slow down. The rock were getting closer and the river's speed was increasing greatly. Mario then released the front part of the leaf, that was not helping.

"This isn't working!" Mario exclaimed. He then turned to the back of the leaf where the stem was located. He then got up and slowly but carefully walked towards the stem, he had his arms out for support.

Sonic looked back at him. "What are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

"Since I can't stop the boat, I'm going to have to make it jump over that rock!" Mario shouted, the crashing sound of the water ahead was getting pretty loud. "But since it's slanted, we could use it to jump!"

"It better work! By the sound of that crashing noise, I assume there's an army of rocks up ahead!"

Mario grabbed the stem. _This better work…_He then swung the stem towards the right before the leaf jumped by the help of the slanted rock. Now, the leaf was spinning while flying through the air. Sonic screamed as he held on to the leaf. Flying a long distance in the air, above water, was kind of shaky. It seemed like they were going down a huge hill. Now soon going to land back on the water, Mario let out a yell, before the leaf harshly landed on the water. The drop was so fast and deep, it would have felt your stomach dropped also.

Sonic panted, while Mario was now at the front, still holding the stem. Mario's knees shook, before he slowly sank down to them, he was going to sit down for a while.

* * *

><p>Luigi was shocked. He was alive, that black and red whatever was alive. So he hadn't killed him, which was a good thing. He was glad to see he hadn't gone too far. Though, Luigi's small smile faded. Sure the thing's saving him, but, what if he's only doing so just to try to capture him? He wasn't too sure, but what if?<p>

In a bizarre place this was, there was no way he was going to take any chances.

Finally, Luigi grabbed the hedgehog's hand. He was going to yank it with all of his might so the hedgehog could fall in and he could make his escape, but the hedgehog yanked him out of the water before he could even do anything afterwards.

The green plumber stumbled, before looking into the eyes of the hedgehog. Those pair of eyes were a deep red, eyes like those could just pierce through your soul, just by its color and maybe their meaning. Darkness…menace…just filled with danger. And Luigi knows danger when he sees it.

"Y-You're that thing from before…" Luigi said.

"I'm a hedgehog, not a thing." the hedgehog said. "Do you want me to regret saving you?"

"I'm sorry." Luigi backed up a bit. "How was I supposed to know what you're supposed to be?" he then held out his hand. "By the way, I'm Luigi."

The black hedgehog crossed his arms. "Shadow, the Hedgehog." He then began to circle the green plumber.

"You know, the way you fought me back there…" Shadow began. "was very impressing."

Luigi blinked. "So…you're not mad?"

"Of course, though you're fighting skills were very impressing. And you have very fast reflexes. I haven't met anyone else with such…skill."

Luigi slightly blushed. "Nah, I'm not that skilled…" he said humbly. "You were pretty good yourself…I guess…" he said the last part slowly.

"But you haven't given me much of a chance to fight back. You really had showed me up."

"Oh please! Nothing that special!" Suddenly, a white hedgehog flew in. The two both jerked once he flew in. Luigi starred into his golden yellow eyes, those pair of eyes might also pierce through your soul, but not as strongly as Shadow's.

Soon, Shadow spoke up. "Hey…you're that…that hedgehog!"

The white hedgehog jerked. "You again?!" he exclaimed. His eyes then darted over to the green plumber standing next to the black hedgehog. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm supposed to be a plumber, named Luigi." Luigi said bravely. "Who are _you_ supposed to be?" Before the white hedgehog could answer, a green dinosaur suddenly jumped on the hedgehog.

"I've found you!" he hissed.

"Now's not the time!" the white hedgehog exclaimed.

Luigi peered his eyes at the green dinosaur. "Yoshi? Yoshi… is that you?"

Yoshi looked up to the owner of that voice, before smiling. "Luigi! You're alive after all!"

"Me? You're the one who fell off the plane first! I'm just glad that you're okay."

"Well you better believe it!" he then got off the hedgehog and ran over towards the plumber.

"Hey hedgehog!" Shadow called out. "Don't you try to run off! Who are you? Answer me right now!"

The white hedgehog got up and brushed himself off. "I'm Silver, the Hedgehog."

"And I'm Yoshi." Yoshi said.

"Well now that you're here, I'm not letting you chase after the doctor!" Shadow exclaimed as he got into a fighting stance.

"So, you want to fight?" Silver then got into a fighting stance. Yoshi and Luigi looked at each other and shrugged before getting into a fighting stance also.

* * *

><p>"I think I see something ahead!" Mario shouted. They were coming towards another current. "Down another hill. Hang on, another ride lays ahead!" Sonic then hang on to the leaf.<p>

"Come on, let's do this! The faster the get through this, the sooner we can reach Eggman!"

"Then let's-a-go!" Mario pushed the stem forward, pushing the leaf towards the current. The river then carried the leaf down the hill at a quicker pace. Mario place one hand on his hat and kept the other on the stem.

They were going down the hill at a fast speed. There were more rocks up ahead. Mario pulled the stem left to right to dodge the rocks. Then, they came a cave, the flow of the river slowed down. When the leaf floated to land, Mario and Sonic jumped off and entered the cave. It was slightly dark, though not too dark due to a huge hole on top.

Sonic looked around, looking for the egg-shaped troublemaker. Mario began scanning the place as he walked around. This cavern was very roomy. Suddenly, he bumped into something big and soft, then fell to the ground on his back. He looked upward to see an egg-shaped man standing over him. Mario screamed before crawling backwards quickly to get away from the strange man.

Sonic whirled around when he heard Mario's voice. "Mario! What's up?" Then a shadow rose over him. Sonic looked upward, to see the one and only man he was looking for. "Eggman!"

"Well, well, well, Sonic the Hedgehog! You've finally caught up to me!"

"I have. Now hand over the cards!"

"YOU'RE Eggman?" Mario exclaimed, crawling towards a rock.

Eggman laughed wickedly. "That's me! You know, I haven't seen anyone like you, ever. Why don't you tell me who you are?"

He grabbed the rock and used it to help him stand up. "I'm Super Mario. I actually came here accidently, and met Sonic a while back. I was sent here by a magical staff thanks to-"

"Wha- Eggman! Who's that you're talking to?!" a voice boomed.

Mario jerked, before looking around. That voice…that means…Suddenly, a huge turtle walked from the shadows of the cave. Mario jumped back as his eyes widened, before they narrowed as he got into a fighting stance.

"Bowser!" he exclaimed. "I knew you would be here!"

Bowser jerked, before he mirrored Mario's pose. "MARIO!" he roared. "I knew you had to be here!"

"Ah… You know him, Bowser?" Eggman asked.

"Yeah! Mario is my arch nemesis! He would ALWAYS foil my evil schemes and… rescues the princess!"

"Talking about me, Bowser?" a sudden voice came. Everyone looked around for the owner of that voice. The turned to the entrance of the cave to see a princess and a red echidna.

"Peach!" Mario exclaimed as he ran over to her.

"Knuckles!" Sonic exclaimed.

"PEACH?!" Bowser exclaimed. He couldn't believe it. He had expected her dead, just like that guy he also threw off the plane…and hopefully those two nuisances he took care of.

"Hello, Bowser." Peach said as she was released from Mario's embrace. She then began to walk forward. "Is there anything you have to say to me?"

For a moment, it was hard for Bowser to speak. "H-How did you survive?!" he demanded, or tried to. He really did not expect this. Mario he didn't know about, but Peach should not be alive right now, not after the fall.

"Never mind that Bowser!" Eggman said as he took out a remote. "So Sonic, if you and or Knuckles can win my little contest; I could give you _a_ card of your choosing."

"Wait a minute! What?!" Knuckles exclaimed. "That's not what you said before!"

"Do you want the card or not?" Bowser exclaimed. "Just shut up and do what you're told!"

"_You_ shut up! I wasn't talking to you!" Knuckles barked.

"Why don't you make me?!" Bowser challenged. "What's a punk like you gonna do anyway?"

"What are _you_ gonna do Bowser?" Mario spoke up.

"I'm gonna shut all of you up! That's for sure!"

Knuckles got into a stance. "Then do something!"

"I said; shut up!" Bowser snapped.

"Now now, let's not get violent just yet." Eggman then pressed a huge red button on the remote. Suddenly a huge robotic turtle slowly raised from underground. Bowser and Eggman were on top of the robotic turtle's head where the seat was. The window slowly closed over them.

The turtle had a green shell, which had some yellow parts on certain parts that had grey tubes inserted in each of the yellow holes. There was a yellow foot that had a silver line on each foot on side of the shell, which the grey tubes were attached to. On the back was the tail, which was bigger and longer than the feet. And the turtle's head was in the front. There was a huge grey tube that was attached to the head, obviously that was the neck. There was a huge pair of red eyes, and a silver line going down the middle.

Eggman smirked. "Let's see how you can handle this!"


	6. Egg Turtle

5-Egg Turtle

_Mario starred at the enemy before him._

"W-What is that thing?!"

"Oh this?" Eggman said. "This is the Egg Turtle."

"Really? A gigantic robotic turtle?" Peach asked before scoffing. "That's all you can think of?"

"Be quiet, little girl!" Eggman snapped. Peach gasped.

"A-A _little girl_? How _dare_ you!" the now angry Mushroom Princess exclaimed.

"How dare I? How dare you!" Eggman retorted. "You shall taste the wrath of the Egg Turtle!"

"Or, how about you taste _my_ wrath!" Peach jumps in the air to the top of the turtle, the window where Eggman and Bower were under. She took off her crown and with all of her might slammed it into the window as hard as she could, which caused a crack on the top.

The robotic turtle spun a foot back as fire surrounded it. Eggman and Bowser stumbled while electric bolts surrounded the machine. Once the turtle settled down, Eggman flipped a switch, making the turtle stand up and march strait towards the Mushroom Princess.

"Stupid girl!" Eggman spat. "You shall be dealt with immediately!" Eggman pushed the switch forward, making the neck of the turtle extend and the head lung at Peach.

"Peach!" Mario and Knuckles called as they ran towards her. Mario quickly grabbed the princess and jumped out of the way while Knuckles also jumped in front of the turtle and grabbed hold of his head.

Knuckles skidded back with the turtle's head still in his hands. Eggman just pushed another switch. Suddenly, the turtle picked up his head and swung it's head from side to side. Knuckles still kept hold of it, trying his best not to let go. Eggman, starting to get a little annoyed, pressed a button. The giant robotic turtle swung his head upwards with such great force that Knuckles instantly let go and was sent flying through the air. The red echidna's back soon collided against the cave wall and slowly slid to the ground.

Peach gasped, before running over towards the injured echidna. Though Mario grabbed her and held her back. Peach tried to make Mario release her, though the plumber's arms refused to release the princess. She then began to scream loudly. Mario tightly shut his eyes, bearing through the pain in his ears.

"Cut it out Peach!" Mario snapped.

Peach ignored him and continued to go after her partner. "I'm coming Knuckles! Hold on!" She stopped when she heard Bowser laughing.

"That's right, your fruitless attempts to save your friend are useless."

"BOWSER!" Peach screamed. "If I ever get my hands on you, you'll be SORRY for kidnapping me in the first place!"

Bowser laughed again. "If that is, you can stop me from kidnapping you again." Then his gaze switched to Mario. "And as for you, be thankful I'm giving you a fighting chance!"

"Shut up!" Mario snapped. "You would lose anyway! So don't be talking smack when you know you're gonna lose you big baboon! Especially in the state that you're in!"

Bowser roared in fury. "Is that so? Then let's just see you fat pasta-loving jerk!"

"Fine!" Mario jumped up and took out his hammer. Then with all of his might, he swung his hammer, which deepened the crack. Sonic jumped up and striked the window also, making the crack even bigger. Knuckles came back to his senses and jumped in the air while holding up a fist. He then came down really fast and striked his fist in to a different side of the window, forming a new crack.

Eggman and Bowser flew back and forth in the little tight space. Mario jumped up and spiked his hammer into the same crack he, Peach and Sonic had form, which now became a small open hole. Peach took off one of her pumps and jumped up. She then slammed the heel into the window, in a different spot though. Sonic jumped up into the air and balled up. He then slammed himself into the window once again, in the new spot Peach striked. This time another crack was formed. Knuckles jumped up and striked the same spot he had hit, a little harder this time. In that area, the glass shattered and flew inside. Bowser and Eggman shielded themselves from the flying glass.

Bowser shook his head. "What are you doing just standing there?!" he exclaimed. "You're not seriously gonna take that are you?"

Eggman scoffed. "Please! I'm just getting started!" He then pressed a few buttons. "Now we get serious!"

* * *

><p>They each stood in a stance, staring at each other, waiting for someone to make a first move. Luigi and Silver exchanged looks. Luigi gave him a rather challenging look, Silver responded by scoffing and rolling his eyes before switching over to Shadow. Yoshi looked at Shadow with a glare, who responded by smirking.<p>

The green reptile clenched his fists, and squatted down a little. Shadow watched him, still smirking, he was ready for anything. Suddenly, Yoshi flew up to the smirking hedgehog and threw a punch, aiming towards the muzzle. Shadow dodged by jumping aside. The confused Yoshi stopped and looked at the hedgehog, who was flying towards him with a punch. Yoshi gasped, before he could even make a move he was punched across the face. The black hedgehog then tried to reach for the green reptile, who ducked and countered with a kick behind the leg. Shadow stumbled, nearly fell. Luigi watched the two fight, though only to suddenly get striked by a fist across the face. It was Silver, who took advantage of him watching the fight.

The battle was on.

Silver sent another swift punch, aiming for Luigi's neck. Luigi dodged by doing a backflip and countered by kicking the hedgehog in the chin while back flipping. The white hedgehog's head snapped back as he stumbled backwards. Luigi then picked up his left leg and striked the hedgehog on his side. The green plumber then dropped kick the hedgehog in the stomach, who bent down holding his stomach. The plumber then whirled around and kicked his side harder this time. The white hedgehog fell on his side, but quickly rolled out of the way when Luigi tried to stomp on him. The white hedgehog grabbed the foot of the green plumber and pulled on it, making Luigi fall on his back. Luigi kicked upwards with his free foot, striking the hedgehog's chin. The white hedgehog's head snapped back once again, and Luigi took advantage by getting up and tackling the hedgehog to the ground. The two then rolled into the bushes without Shadow or Yoshi noticing.

Yoshi skidded backwards a few feet, still standing, and then jumped back about a foot. Yoshi brushed his foot against the ground twice before charging at the hedgehog at full speed like a bull. When Yoshi was a foot away, he transformed into a Yoshi egg and rolled towards the hedgehog without breaking his speed. Shadow was caught off guard before getting hit by the egg and flew backwards a couple of feet. Yoshi skidded, now out of his egg, and flew over towards the hedgehog.

Shadow quickly rolled out of the way when Yoshi flew towards him with a kick. Shadow quickly got up and cast Chaos Sphere. Yoshi transformed into his egg once again and began rolling, dodging several energy beams. Shadow then curled up and charged at the Yoshi. Yoshi remained in his egg, Shadow attacked, though the egg didn't break. He rolled backwards, before jumping out of his egg into the air and flying towards the hedgehog with a fist raised. Shadow charged another energy beam, then threw it towards the Yoshi. Yoshi barely dodged, by flipping as the energy beam flew past him. The Yoshi then landed on the hedgehog and both rolled once they made contact.

Shadow landed on his back and the Yoshi was on top, pinning the hedgehog down with his legs around his waist. Yoshi threw several punches, Shadow dodged most of them by tilting his head left to right. Though Yoshi had got him with the last two punches. He then grabbed the hedgehog by the white fur on his chest and yanked it as hard as he could. Shadow grunted in pain while gritting his teeth. He then wrapped his hands around the Yoshi's neck, Yoshi responded by wrapping a hand around the hedgehog's neck and used the other hand to pull the fur on his chest.

They stayed like that for a moment, before Shadow suddenly rolled to one side, making Yoshi roll with him. Now Shadow was on top of the green reptile with his hands still around his neck with his legs now wrapped around Yoshi's waist, though Yoshi still hadn't broken his grip on the hedgehog's chest fur or his neck. He yanked on the fur once again, Shadow grunted in pain as he fell on top of the Yoshi. Their faces were very close, so close that Shadow's muzzle was resting on Yoshi's nose. They both released a low growl before Yoshi rolled to one side, now on top of the black hedgehog.

Luigi and Silver rolled through the bushes and all the way down the hill. Luigi tried looking to his right, and saw a cliff they were heading directly towards. Luigi couldn't stop themselves from rolling, due to the fact they were on a steep hill, he couldn't gain control of his body. They then came to solid ground and rolled to about five feet away from the cliff. Luigi laid on his back with the white hedgehog on top of him, hands wrapped around his neck tightly. Luigi grunted in pain, feeling that he was losing air. The strangled plumber weakly picked up both arms and rested his hands on the strangler's shoulders. With all of his might, he shoved the hedgehog off of him, which caused the hedgehog to fall backwards. Luigi quickly got up and picked up the hedgehog's foot.

He then began to drag the hedgehog over towards the cliff, gaze focused towards it. Silver used his free foot to strike the plumber in the stomach. Luigi didn't break his grasp, nor did he even stopped or flinched. As Luigi continued to drag him towards the cliff, Silver studied his face for a minute, before striking the plumber's cheek. Luigi's head merely tilted, that was it. Once again, he hadn't stopped or anything. Finally, Silver placed a foot underneath the plumber's legs, before striking the crotch. That's when Luigi flinched. The injured plumber instantly dropped the hedgehog's foot and dropped to the ground, holding where he was kicked.

Silver quickly got up and held out his hand, which began to glow a teal color. Luigi, in immense pain, happened to look up to see not just the hedgehog's hand, but himself literally glowing in teal. That wasn't good. Luigi then suddenly slid towards the cliff. For some reason, he didn't have any control over his body, and he couldn't stop himself from sliding towards the edge. Suddenly, he was lifted up, and tossed towards the cliff.

As Luigi flew over the cliff, he grabbed onto the ledge with one hand. He looked downward to avoid getting dirt into his eyes, then quickly looked back up, he did not want to know how large the drop was. Silver slowly walked towards the plumber hanging off the cliff. He then placed his right foot on Luigi's left hand and stepped on it as hard as he could. Luigi grunted in pain as he squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his grip on the cliff with his other hand. Without thinking, Luigi took the risk of falling off by using his other hand to wrap around Silver's ankle and yanked on it as hard as he could, making Silver slip and fall. Luigi quickly pulled himself up while Silver grabbed onto the ledge.

He looked down, and watched some dirt fall. The drop was so huge, he couldn't even see the bottom. He looked up at the plumber who watched him with worried eyes and shot him a glare. Luigi's eyes wandered over to one of the hedgehog's hands that were slowly slipping. He panicked. Sure he could either allow or force the hedgehog to let go and fall and he would win, but he had already won hasn't he? And once he saves him, they could call it quits. Luigi went over to the cliff and kneeled down as he held out his hand.

"Take my hand!" Luigi called. "I won't let you fall!"

Silver stared at his hand for a minute, before lifting his slipping hand. "With pleasure." Though he grabbed the plumber's hand rather harshly. Luigi began to pull him up, grunting and closing one of his eyes for effort. For some reason, the hedgehog was not moving one inch. What was going on? Suddenly Luigi collapsed, but Silver still had a grip on him. The plumber kept feeling like he was being tugged down.

That's when he knew.

"You dirty little…" Luigi growled. Silver just grinned evilly in response before grabbing the plumber's arm with his other hand.

Luigi gasped. He was now slowly sliding towards the edge. He used his free arm to grab Silver's hand that was close to his shoulder and tried to pull it off. Finally he did, but he was jerked by the hedgehog. The ledge was close to his stomach now. He was definitely going to fall if he didn't do something fast.


	7. Defeat

6-Defeat

_Minutes had past…it surely was in intense battle._

Knuckles went flying and his back collided with a huge boulder, which cracked once he made contact. Peach and Sonic charged, Eggman flipped another switch. The gigantic mechanical turtle swung his humungous tail and hit both Peach and Sonic. They both flew a few feet back and landed on their backs, skidding towards the cavern wall. Mario flew towards the tail and wacked it with his hammer as hard as he could, only to get electrocuted. He then grabbed the tail, which caused Eggman to press another button. The tail swung up and down, with Mario still clinging onto it. Finally the tail swung upward harshly, making Mario release and fly upward.

Mario landed on the back of the turtle. He stood up, and smirked as he tightened the grip on his hammer. He walked to the yellow part of the shell and lifted his hammer high in the air, before slamming it down on the glass window. He repeated this three more times before the spot where he was striking at had a huge crack. Before Mario could strike again, Knuckles flew towards him with a fist raised. The plumber ducked, thinking the attack was for him. Though Knuckles flew over him and striked the glass, making that area have a bigger hole in it.

Bowser growled. "This is outrageous!" he shouted. "Let me get out there and handle them!"

"But then I wouldn't need my robot if I had you fight them would I?" Eggman countered.

"Then what do you need me for?!" Bowser exclaimed.

"If I'd told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

"Whatever! Just let me outta here so I can take care of those pest and kidnap the princess so I can be on my way!"

"No! I am not letting you go!" Eggman argued. "You're just gonna have to wait."

"I wait for NO one!" Bowser roared. "If you won't let me out, I'll just get out myself!" Bowser then began to punch the window as hard as he could.

Eggman snarled as he whipped around, facing the angry Koopa King. "What are you doing?!" Bowser ignored him and continued punching the glass before it shattered into a million pieces. Everyone watched pieces of glass fly all over the place while the robotic turtle began to break down.

* * *

><p>Luigi didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to get the hedgehog to release him without making him fall and end up killing the hedgehog. This was just one of the things he hated to do. But apparently, there wasn't much of a choice. Luigi used his free hand once again to grab Silver's hand and tried to pull it off. It wasn't working.<p>

He was sliding towards the edge, he could feel the hedgehog pulling him down. Sweat broke on to Luigi's forehead, this was going to be close. He was running out of options. Finally, Luigi used his free hand to one by one pull Silver's fingers. He did so with as much hast, so so desperate. Though Silver grabbed Luigi's other hand, now the plumber couldn't use his hand.

Luigi was doomed. Sure, he might be fine by the fall, but it all depends of what's at the bottom. Sure he survived the fall from that plan, but that was just luck. Luck may not be on his side this time. He getting so close to the edge. Tears began to well up in the plumber's eyes, he would be facing death if he didn't do something right now. Finally, he had an idea.

Luigi extended his cheeks, collecting as much saliva as he can, and spat the saliva out of his mouth, aiming for the hedgehog's eye. Silver gasped as he released both of Luigi's hands and fell down the cliff. Hanging over the cliff on his stomach, Luigi panted, that was so close…That hedgehog was crazy.

He lifted himself up and crawled away from the cliff. He did admit, Silver did put up a good fight, better than Shadow did at least. Just to the point where Luigi though he was going to die…Though he had gotten into fights where he was close to that point before though. Luigi crawled over to the cliff looked down, now unable to see the hedgehog. He was shaking a bit, trying to take in everything that had happened. That hedgehog would be dead soon. He didn't want it go that far, honestly, but again, he had to, there was no choice. He then crawled a couple of feet away from the cliff.

Suddenly, Yoshi and Shadow came tumbling down the hill just like he and Silver had. Though they both came so close to the cliff. Luigi gasped as he watched the two go about.

Yoshi ended up on top of the hedgehog, but then stood up, hand still on Shadow's white fur. Shadow placed both feet on Yoshi's stomach and pushed with great force. Yoshi flew backwards, still standing, and stumbled towards the edge. The Yoshi waved his arms as he stood on the very edge of the cliff, trying his best to gain his balance.

Though it was too late. He sighed, "Here we go again…" before falling off and down towards certain death that may greet him this time. Unless he is lucky enough that he survives, again. Luigi took deep breaths while Shadow slowly picked himself up. He released a sigh while brushing himself off.

"That was rough." He then turned around, only to be greeted by a slap across the face by an angry plumber.

Luigi glared the hedgehog down with tear-filled eyes. "You killed him." he managed through a sob. "You went and killed him."

"Calm down, calm down." Shadow said as he put his hands up in defense. "I only"

"After I had found him, alive." Luigi interrupted. He shuddered a few sobs before he continued. "I had found him alive…only to be killed…"

"Look, I can assure you he's not dead." Shadow assured. "The cliff isn't as deep as you think." He placed a hand on the plumber's shoulder. "He will definitely live, I know that for a fact. So don't worry about it." Luigi just slowly nodded as he sniffled.

"O-Okay…"

Shadow removed his hand from the plumber's shoulder and the two began walking. They walked back up the hill and through the bushes, back to the area where the couple met. Luigi suddenly stopped, and walked over the pond he fell into. He bent down and stared at his reflection. His face had numerous scratches all over, not that he could see that. Though, he did noticed a trickle of blood leaking from his nose. He then took out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped the blood from his nostril. After doing so, he put the hankie away and turned around, studying Shadow's figure.

He too didn't look too bad either. Only a few small bruises on his muzzle and a small stream of blood leaking from the same place were Luigi had cut him earlier, which had turned that area pink.

Luigi soon felt a sharp pain on one of his shins. He faced towards the lake again and lifted up both pants legs to the knees. He then saw on his left shin was a three-inch scrape, which was close to the knee and was starting to bleed a little. He took out his hankie again and dipped it into the water while getting onto the knee that did not had the scrape. The plumber carefully wiped the small spots of blood off his scraped shin. Shadow watched the green plumber nursing himself gingerly. Finally, Luigi pulled the pants leg down over his knee and stood up to face the black hedgehog.

"Ready?" Shadow asked him. Luigi didn't answer. Instead, he walked over to the black hedgehog with the wet handkerchief in his hand. Before Shadow could say anything, Luigi placed a hand on the side of Shadow's face and gingerly wiped the cut with a new, clean spot on the hankie.

Shadow didn't say anything. He felt he should of protest, though he was too surprised to speak. Luigi then stopped, looking at the cut which was now nothing but a red small line. With his hand still on the hedgehog's face, Luigi then looked into the deep red eyes that watched him. Shadow, oddly enough, also stared into the big, bright blue eyes of the plumber. They were silent. Shadow's hand hesitantly grabbed Luigi's which was on his face. The hedgehog opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. The plumber raised a brow before Shadow's hand guided his back to his side.

"Don't get any ideas." he said, still looking into the plumber's eyes. Then he tear away from Luigi's gaze and began to walk, leading the way. Luigi put the hankie back in his pocket and silently followed behind the hedgehog.

* * *

><p>Silver opened his eyes to find himself facing upward. He groaned, before he shot up. He was on a big, floating leaf, which soared through the air. He was confused, how did he get here? Soon, he heard another groan. He jerked, and whipped his head around to see a green dinosaur lying flat on his stomach with his eyes closed. It was the same dinosaur who was following him all day.<p>

Yoshi lazily sat up, grunting in the process, and saw a white hedgehog looking at him. Yoshi glared. "What?"

"Why are you constantly following me?" Silver asked nastily.

"Look, I'm not in the mood for junk." Yoshi snapped. "I don't even know how I got here. So do me a favor and shut up, and maybe we can get through this."

"Why are you being so hostile? I just asked you a simple question."

"You're the one who's being so hostile! Now, leave me alone."

"Fine, then I guess you know how to get out of here yourself."

"Shut up."

"Fine,"

"I said; shut up!" Yoshi fumed.

"Let me talk!" Silver shouted.

"Shut UP!" Yoshi boomed. Silver froze, before a cold glare formed on his muzzle.

"I. Will. Not." the hedgehog said firmly. The angry Yoshi clenched his teeth and glared down the hedgehog. It was silent.

Suddenly, Yoshi tackled the hedgehog. On top, he grabbed one of the hedgehog's quills that were in front and pulled. Silver, underneath, punched the Yoshi several times in the nose. Yoshi's free hand made its way to the hedgehog's chest which had white fur there also, unlike the black hedgehog he faced, Silver's went around his neck to the back. Yoshi then tangled his hand in the hedgehog's fur and yanked as hard as he could. Silver grunted, before rolling to one side.

Now on top of the Yoshi, Silver aimed his punch at his eye. Yoshi swiftly returned it before he wrapped that hand around the hedgehog's neck and rolled. Silver then aimed his next punch at the Yoshi's mouth, which Yoshi opened then closed when the hand was inside. The hedgehog yanked and pulled his hand so he could get it free, he could feel the Yoshi's teeth digging into his hand. They both froze when the leaf was suddenly falling downward diagonally. They both released each other and began to make their way to the stem which was in the back.

Yoshi tried to walk over to the stem before Silver kicked the back of his leg. Yoshi dropped down and landed flat on his stomach while Silver walked passed him. Yoshi grabbed hold of one of the hedgehog's leg. Silver fell flat on his face while Yoshi crawled over him. Yoshi continued, even when Silver climbed on to his back. The Yoshi rammed his elbow into the hedgehog's face, pushing him off. When he reached the stem, he grabbed hold of it. He was about to pull himself up when the hedgehog grabbed his foot and started pulling. Finally, Yoshi let go of the stem, grabbed Silver's head with both hands and head-butted him.

Silver yelped as he fell back and held his head. While the hedgehog laid stunned, Yoshi quickly got up and pushed and pulled the stem in many directions. Nothing was working, the leaf continued to fall from the sky. Yoshi could see the ground closer and closer from before. Soon, Silver came back to his senses and sat up, only to be pulled by the Yoshi. Yoshi jumped high into the air, making Silver jump with him. They both screamed while falling towards the ground. When they reached the ground, they landed with a rolling land while the leaf crashed into a nearby tree.

They both soon stood up, brushing themselves off. Yoshi turned to the hedgehog. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." the hedgehog answered while brushing dirt off of him.

"So you see," Yoshi began. "I'm not that annoying. I can be pretty useful when I want to."

Silver managed a small smirk. "You had proved that alright."

Yoshi smiled. "See? This can work out." there was silence afterwards. Yoshi spoke again. "So…will you help me out of this place?"

Silver turned away, a small smile hidden from the Yoshi. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to help you out." he began walking away.

Yoshi beamed. "That's what I like to hear!" The Yoshi followed the hedgehog to a cliff. They both looked down to see a cave, viewing the cave from the side. Yoshi and Silver shared a grin before they climbed down the ledge.

They went in front of the cave and viewed it. Silver crossed his arms and smirked, while Yoshi turned around and looked at the water. He slowly walked over to the water and bent down to stare at his reflection. He saw a four-inch cut on his right cheek, which was nothing but a long red line. His nose was fine, fine for something that was hit a few times. His eye was fine also. There were no scrapes or bruises on his body. All he had was just that cut on his cheek.

Silver turned to look at him. He walked over to the Yoshi and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Yoshi didn't respond. Instead, he turned and looked at Silver. There was barely a scratch or bruise on him either. Though there was a decent cut on the corner of his mouth which was a three inch red line and was pink around it.

"Look at that cut on your mouth." Yoshi said while shaking his head.

Silver raised a brow. "What?"

"Look!" Yoshi pointed to the water. Silver bent down and looked at his reflection. He gingerly toughed the corner of his mouth where Yoshi said he had been cut. He was right. He felt something rough on that side. He traced the line to where it ended. Silver looked at Yoshi, who just grinned.

"I have one too." Yoshi took his hand and traced a finger over the cut while Silver watched. The cut went all the way over his cheek. "Here, touch it."

Silver winced, how strange. Yoshi as about to take the hedgehog's hand until a sudden loud roar came. The both jerked and whipped their heads towards the cave. That was where the roar came from. They both slowly walked over to the cave and stuck their heads inside.

There was a giant robotic turtle laying on the ground, totally destroyed. The egg-shaped man, who Silver was chasing, was shouting all kinds of slurs and swears. Yoshi's eyes widened when he saw Bowser, who was laughing maniacally. Knuckles was laughing at Eggman also, just not as uncivilized. Peach was sighing and shaking er head, he was glad Bowser hadn't taken her yet. But he was really surprised to see Mario, who stood there with his hammer ready for any sudden attacks.

"Mario!" he cried. Only to be pulled back by Silver. Mario whipped his head around to the voice that had called his name. He didn't see anybody. Eggman glared fiercely at the Koopa King.

"Look at what you've done!"

Bowser stopped laughing and turned to face Eggman with a smirk on his face. "That right there should prove to you that I listen to nobody."

"Heh…but Bowser," Peach spoke. "_You_ helped _us_ out."

"Wrong." Bowser said as he got out of the Egg Turtle, slowly walking over to towards the princess. "I did it for me. Now Peach, your time has come." he held out his arms, ready to grab the princess. Sonic and Knuckles stood in front of her while Mario jumped at Bowser with his hammer in his hand.

WHACK!

Bowser flew backwards, past Eggman, and his body was slammed into the cave wall. Eggman began to jump out of the Egg Turtle and tried to escape. Sonic curled up and slammed himself into the evil scientist.

POW!

Eggman flew and his egg-shaped body collided with a rock. Bowser lazily picked himself up and glared at the plumber. "You rotten-"

THWHACK!

Mario swung his hammer again. Bowser flew and skidded on the ground. Eggman finally came to as he picked himself up. "Control that-"

KAPOW!

Sonic threw a punch across Eggman's face. Eggman flew towards Knuckles who had his huge spikey fists ready.

KAPOW!

The blow from Knuckles sent Eggman flying sky high, making him hit the ceiling. The evil scientist then fell and landed in his crushed machine with a big CRASH! Bowser slowly stood up, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth while he exhaled loudly.

KATHWACK!

The surprise swing from Mario's hammer sent him flying toward the crushed matching and landed right next to the barely conscious scientist.

Eggman slowly turned to the Koopa King. "If you help me escape, I'll promise you revenge on those-"

KATHWHOMP!

The surprise blow from both Mario and Sonic caused both villains to fly out of the other exit of the cavern. Sonic and Mario climbed out of the Egg Turtle while Peach and Knuckles walked over to them. Peach placed a soft kiss on Mario's cheek while Sonic and Knuckles exchanged nods and shook hands. After Peach and Knuckles followed the two villains out of the cave, Sonic began to look for something Eggman could have dropped while Mario stood there in a daze, blushing.

Suddenly, Sonic was knocked to the ground by a green dinosaur who ran past him and cling onto Mario.

"Mario! You're okay!" he cried.

"Yoshi?" Mario soon returned the hug. "Glad to see you're okay as well." Sonic stood up, just to be knocked down again, this time by a white hedgehog.

"Out of the way, I've got some personal business to take care of."

Sonic slowly stood up and started brushing himself off. "Boy, you sure do have a problem there."

"Who are you by the way?" Mario asked, releasing Yoshi. "And what's your problem?"

"Silver. And my problem is you."

"What attitude!" Mario exclaimed. "I have a problem too, and it's a whatever who thinks he can just come in here and talk to people like that and thinks he all that when he knows he isn't nothing."

"Yeah, Silver, don't talk to my friend that way." Yoshi stepped in.

"Fine," Silver turned his head to Sonic. "But I must reach that man before you do."

"Oh no!" Mario marched up to the hedgehog. "We are not up for some stupid game of yours! In fact, I bet Sonic will beat you there first! He's the fastest thing alive you know! So there will be NO chances of you winning! He'll take you on! He'll beat you so badly…Right Sonic?"

"That's right! I'll take you on!" Sonic beamed with confidence.

Yoshi shook his head. _I don't like where this is going…_

Silver just stepped up to the angry plumber with a cold glare and his arms crossed. "Fine. Let's just see _who_, exactly, will reach him first." he growled. "Whatever you do, just don't get in the way." he then walked past Mario, shoulders bumping.

"Let's go, Yoshi." he said, walking past the green dinosaur. Yoshi looked at Mario with a sad look before running to catch up with Silver.

Mario watched with his arms crossed as he shook his head. "That blasted hedgehog."

"Now now Mario," Sonic said. "There's no need to get upset." Mario huffed, listening to the blue hedgehog.

Sonic then soon spotted a card laying on the ground. He went over to it and picked it up. "Finally," he sighed.

Mario raised a brow as he looked back at the hedgehog who was staring at a card he was holding. Mario went over and looked at the card. It had a picture of an orange fox on it. Underneath it read _Miles "Tails" Prower_.

Mario raised a brow. "Who's Miles? Is that Miles?"

"That's Tails." Sonic said, not looking at him. "He was one of my friends who had gotten turned into a card. Another one of my friends, her name is Amy, was also turned into a card. See, that's why I was chasing Eggman down."

"Ohhh…okay."

"Um…" Sonic frowned. "I don't know how to turn him back."

"Ah!" Mario smiled. "I can turn him back!"

Sonic's eyes widened as he turned to face the plumber. "You can?"

Mario nodded. "See, I have these special powers that are able to make me turn any person or object from a card back to normal with a single touch! I had done so on one of my adventures. Here! Just hand me the card and you'll see for yourself!"

"Um…okay." Sonic, not really believing Mario's words, handed him the card. Soon, Mario's hand began to sparkle, as well as the card. Sonic gasped, not believing in what he was seeing. Soon, an orange fox was set free.

Sonic just dropped his mouth opened. "No way."

Mario just chuckled. Tails beamed with excitement.

"Sonic!" He then cling onto the blue hedgehog tightly, embracing him. It wasn't before long when Sonic kneeled down to the orange fox's height and returned the hug. Sonic looked up and the plumber smiling before winking.

Mario smiled back, before returning the wink.


	8. Colosseum Highway

7-Colosseum Highway

_Luigi and Shadow ran through the forest side by side._

Shadow knew where to find Eggman. He may not be able to find him here, but he was almost certain where he could have gone to. Now that the white hedgehog was out of the way, they needn't to make too much of a haste. He knew he had to help the green plumber get back home, but first things first. He needed to find Eggman first, THEN he could help the plumber out.

Luigi followed the hedgehog. The hedgehog claimed he knew a shortcut to get to where the doctor was. Does he know what he's doing?…There was nothing to protest about. He knew he had to go home, he wanted to, but he just couldn't, not without Yoshi…or Mario or Peach who he's yet seen alive so far. If he were to return to the Mushroom Kingdom, it certainly wouldn't be without Mario, Peach and Yoshi. Soon, they both came to a small cave, which the entrance seemed to be blocked by a rock of some sort.

Luigi cocked a brow. "Here?"

Shadow just let out a small chuckle, before putting up a hand. Luigi kept his expression as he tilted his head to the side, now confused. Shadow then took a step back.

"Stand back, I have something interesting to show you."

As Luigi tried to step out of the way, he suddenly tripped and fell flat on his stomach. The big boulder blocking the cave suddenly rolled out of the way on its own, now making the cave passable. Luigi picked himself up and looked at the now open path. Shadow just stared.

"Hmm…you've already found it."

Luigi looked at him. "Okay…So how was that interesting? Don't most secret paths open like that?"

"Why are you being so negative about it?" Shadow asked. "Of course most secret

paths open like that."

"I know that. And FYI, I am _not_ negative!" Luigi argued. "I happen to be a very positive person thank you! _You're_ the one who's usually negative!"

"What? I can't be positive and optimistic?…" Shadow walked over towards the cave. "So…you coming or what?"

"OF COURSE I have to come!" Luigi snapped. "You promised to bring me home, didn't you?"

"I know," Shadow mumbled as he looked another way. "But let's look for Eggman first, then I can take you home." He then walked into the cave, with Luigi following him.

As soon as they both entered, the rock immediately rolled back into its original spot. Luigi's head whipped around when the rock made a loud crash once it went back to blocking the cave. He calmed down and looked at the road ahead of him, the cave was extremely dark, so dark that he couldn't see anything, not even the black hedgehog he was with.

Luigi slowly crept around with both hands out, just so if he felt anything, he would know to avoid it. He could try to look for Shadow, but it would be difficult since his fur camouflages with the darkness. But he could try to call him.

"S-Shadow?" his voice shook. Yet he was too worried that anything could pop out and get him. So he was trying to stay cautious of his surroundings. He started moving his hands around, trying to see if he felt anything. He felt nothing, nothing but air, but he did hear a sudden noise.

"Shadow?" no response…

He heard it again, though it sounded like something, or someone, was trying to strike a match. Luigi froze, and then looked around, trying to indicate where the sound was coming from.

"Hello?" he called. He still didn't get a response. He heard the same noise again, a little louder this time. That's when he learned where the sound was coming from.

Luigi flinched, freezing where he was. He then remembered the knife Yoshi had gave him back at Bowser's Castle. Luigi reached in his pocket and drew the knife. He held it out with both hands, pointing towards where the sound was, before slowly walking towards it. He was trembling, but he still had his knife ready. Suddenly, fire was lit and someone with a torch had whipped around almost instantly to face the green plumber. Luigi screamed as he fell flat on his back.

"Shh!" he heard someone hiss.

That voice, it sounded so familiar. Luigi looked up at the person holding the torch. It was Shadow, who was staring back at the green plumber.

Shadow got onto one knee. "You alright?"

"No," Luigi sat up. "Thanks for scaring me."

Shadow stood up. "Come on, let's not waste time here." he turned around and started to walk. The plumber just grumbled to himself while he felt around for the knife he dropped and stood on his feet.

He followed the hedgehog three feet behind. "Why does it have to be so dark?" he mumbled to himself.

"Afraid of the dark are we?" Shadow said it in a curious yet mocking tone.

Luigi shivered. "It's so spooky, I mean what if some sort of monster jumps out and grabs us? What if a spider crawls onto me? I can't see anything. I can't tell what's going on. Wouldn't that make you worried too?"

Not answering Luigi's questions, Shadow just said, "So the little plumber hates the dark?"

"I'm not little." Luigi said sharply.

Shadow ignored him. "What will our little scared plumber do now? He is worried about a monster capturing him. He is worried about a spider biting him. He can't even make out what's going on." he shook his head. "Poor, poor plumber."

"I'm just gonna give you a fair warning and tell you that I have a knife in my hand."

"Ooh…" Shadow said sarcastically, pretending to be shocked. "The plumber is angry and wants to stab me."

"I wasn't really," Luigi said, then thought, _I am thinking about it…_.

They soon came to the end of the tunnel, another boulder blocking the exit. Shadow handed Luigi the torch and went over to the rock to give it a push. The rock rolled, but sideways, the hedgehog just shrugged it off and walked forth, Luigi followed as he blew out the torch and tossed it aside for light had spilled into the cave.

They exited the cave and the rock rolled back to its original place. Shadow and Luigi walked on the stone path up that inclined, for they were on a hill. Once they reached the top, they were able to see a huge statue of a man in roman armor and armed with a sword and shield.

"This is Colosseum Highway." The plumber heard Shadow said. Luigi looked up into the sky, which was mixed with a light orange, pink and purple. "Getting late, isn't it?" Luigi looked over to the hedgehog who gazed into the sky.

"Should we look for a place to camp and spend the night?" the green plumber asked.

Shadow looked ahead. "I really think we should find Eggman first."

Luigi placed his hands on his hips. "And there you go, talking about this Eggman dude. I wanna know, why is it so important for you to find him?"

Shadow sighed as he closed him eyes. "Why must you know?"

"Because you're so focused on finding this guy. And I just want to know why. Why is that important?"

Getting a little irritated, Shadow just said, "I just need to see him."

Pressing on, Luigi said again, "Why?"

"Because! That's why!" the black hedgehog snapped. "Why do you insist on pestering me about it?"

"Because you won't tell me anything." Luigi said, looking hurt. Then his gaze switched to the ground. "But I guess it's not my business, is it?"

"No," Shadow sighed as he looked in a different direction. "Look, let's just get going. I'd like to find him as soon as possible."

"Of course." the plumber walked ahead, slightly picking up his head. Shadow was going to call him back, but decided not to waste any more time and followed.

* * *

><p>They were walking through the fields of Colosseum Highway, Peach and Knuckles were deep into conversation.<p>

"Relax Knuckles, we got Eggman didn't we?" Peach said. She held a fist up as she said, "We all gave him a good what for, didn't we?" she giggled as she put her hand to her sound. "How tomboyish of me! I didn't sound very ladylike at all just then. I apologize." she smirked to herself. "Oh Knuckles, what will you ever do with me?"

"I don't know," he muttered. Something wasn't right, Knuckles thought. He knew something was missing. It felt very obvious, which why it bothered him so much. Then it came to him. "The Master Emerald!"

Peach looked at him. "What?"

"We didn't get the Master Emerald back! The Master-" he paused. "Now we've got to find him all over again!"

"Don't worry Knuckles. We'll catch him again, I can feel it alright."

Knuckles ignored her at the moment as he mumbled to himself. "I've had him and cold of gotten the card back too…"

"So you've let the doctor get away? Hmph, you're useless…" Knuckles picked his head up as soon as he heard that voice, then a glare formed on his face.

"What'd you say?" The echidna exclaimed. "Don't mess with me, Shadow, I'm not in the mood! I might take it out on you, got it?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Whatever Knuckles…"

Peach glared at the black hedgehog. "Leave him alone, guy."

Shadow's gaze flicked to her. "And who might you be?" before Peach could answer, the hedgehog's eyes dismissed her. "Not like it matters. I have more important things to worry about than some petty wannabe princess of a chick."

Now angry, Peach pushed Knuckles aside and stepped up to the black hedgehog. "You have, like, a major attitude. Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" she folded her arms and rolled her eyes at him. "But seriously, what's your problem?"

"You think you're cute." an obviously annoyed Shadow stated flatly.

Peach mockingly smiled. "I do, actually. Thanks for noticing." Before the hedgehog could say anything else, he was knocked aside by a green plumber.

"Peach!" Luigi shouted as he ran tower her.

Peach beamed. "Luigi! You're okay!" she pulled him into a tight embrace.

"So there's more of you?" Knuckles asked as he smirked.

Peach nodded. "Knuckles, this is Luigi. Luigi, Knuckles."

"You guys done or what?" Shadow cut in rudely.

Luigi glared at him. "Hey, I thought she was dead."

"Too bad she wasn't," ignoring Peach's heated glare, he said to Knuckles. "I've got some business with the doctor. And it does not include you."

"Then let's see who can catch him first." Knuckles challenged. "What do you say?"

"I say you're on." the black hedgehog gladly accepted the challenge. "You and little miss princess cutie versus me and Luigi."

"I have a name." Peach added heatedly. "It's Peach, use it."

"Whatever you say, dog." Shadow replied. "Be good and stay with your master, okay?" he winked at Knuckles, then turned around and took off.

Luigi was red and was damp with sweat. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him." he then ran to catch up with Shadow.

Peach's face was red as well. "He is very rude. When I get my hands on him, I'll see to it that I'll get him good." she looked at the red echidna. "Let's beat him to Eggman. And when we meet, we'll get him good."

Knuckles smirked. "Sounds good to me." Peach smiled. "Okay, let's do this!"

* * *

><p>"See any signs of that Silver?" Mario asked, behind both Sonic and Tails who were catching up.<p>

"Silver?" Tails asked. "Who's that Sonic?"

"Someone who Mario and I are supposed to be racing." the blue hedgehog froze. "Wait…why are we walking then?" Sonic immediately broke into a sprint. Tails and Mario exchanged quick glances before running after the hedgehog.

So what's going on? Why are you so anxious of seeing this Silver person?" Tails asked Mario.

"Because," Mario said. "I have some unfinished business to settle with him." then he said, or more likely muttered, "He has a what for coming for him." and Tails saw the plumber's fist clench.

While they ran through the ruins of Colosseum Highway, Mario was deep into thought. He thought back to when he first met Sonic. Then he thought about their journey through the forest, and then how they met Bowser and Eggman, and Peach and Knuckles. The battle with the Egg Turtle came to mind as well, and then, heh, Peach's kiss. And it all came down with finding Yoshi, with Silver. His eyes narrowed as he thought of the white hedgehog, then remembered what the he said to him.

_Whatever you do, just don't get in the way._

This floated around in his head for a few minutes, then the plumber shook it off. He knew he was definitely going to get that hedgehog once they see him, and he knew he wasn't getting in the way of anything.

* * *

><p>"How much farther?" it was more of a whine on Yoshi's part.<p>

"Keep walking, little mad dino." the white hedgehog, who was a few feet ahead of him, called back to him."

Yoshi just stopped walking. "Come on!" he cried as he stomped his right foot. "Can't we just rest for a little bit? I'm tired!"

"I though Yoshis don't get tired easily."

"We did a lot of things today, I'm just so pooped out I don't know what to do."

"Well if we stop to rest, it'll be too dark later." Yoshi looked at a nearby boulder, which had ancient symbols carved onto it. "We'll be there soon, alright? Just bear with it, and we may get through this a lot quicker than you think."

Yoshi released a sigh. "Whatever you say, hedgehog."


End file.
